Rafa: We’re Chelsea not Barcelona
Chelsea’s interim manager Rafael Benitez claims he is under no pressure from Roman Abramovich to bring a Barcelona-style swagger to Stamford Bridge.
Benitez has been parachuted in to save Chelsea’s season, after the Blues sacked Roberto Di Matteo following a run of disappointing results,according to Soccer Net.
The Spaniard’s connection to Fernando Torres from their days together at Liverpool has seen him field questions about the misfiring striker.
Torres is central to Benitez’s plans, but those plans do not involve imprinting the Barcelona method on Chelsea.
“He (Abramovich) sees how we work and he knows it’ll take some time to fix everything,” Benitez said. “But he knows we can do it.
“Roman says he wants to see the team playing well but not with the Barcelona style. He knows we don’t have Messi, Xavi or Iniesta – who have been working together for years.
“We have different players and we can play attacking and defensive football together. We have to find the balance.”